Carnival event experience in Brazil

CARNIVAL EVENT EXPERIENCE IN BRAZIL LENIA MARQUES Universidade Aberta, Portugal CARLA BORBA Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil

PURPOSE This paper aims to provide insights into the experience of Carnival in Brazil, using an events studies framework. There are studies on the practices of Carnival from a cultural studies perspective, and a few from an events management perspective. However, the experiential side of this popular event has yet to be understood. Carnival is a very popular event in the Brazil, and it’s a moment where people can express creativity, even months ahead of the event, by, among others preparing their own costumes to wear during the celebrations. The present research aims at investigating the Carnival experience from a visitor’s perspective, bringing insights on the importance of different elements of the individual experience.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH This paper uses a quantitative approach, drawn from the Event Experience Scale (EES) which was developed as a tool for measuring event experiences (Geus et al. 2015; Richards, 2017).

The results are part of an ongoing study in which this tool has been used in different events in the UK, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Mexico and Brazil. Data was collected with an online questionnaire, using the full scale in 2016, and the reduced scale in 2017. It was therefore a convenience sampling and snowball approach, and mainly use of social media for the research.

In total, there were 600 complete responses, 250 for 2016, and 350 for 2017.

FINDINGS Findings show that Carnival is a moment of high levels of excitement, and, overall, the results point out to a highly positive experience. From the findings it is also clear that participation of locals is an important factor and correlates significantly to a more positive experience.

Although Carnival participants are from all ages, most respondents are between 20 and 59 years. The respondents in both years are mostly from Brazil (over 98%), which is not surprising as it is a strong cultural festival. As compared to four other events, Carnival in Brazil has a strong identity emphasis (Richards, 2017). This also explains why the results point out to a high percentage of respondents being involved in the celebration year after year (67% for 2016 and 64% for 2017 answered that Carnival is part of their life since they could remember).

Although there’s a high participation level, there are clearly different levels of involvement which also affect the experience in most dimensions. Probably due to a slightly change in the channels in collecting data, only in the 2017 data we can see two different groups which statistically different, with 68,67% answering they were actively art of a Carnival group (“bloco”). This means people from the group are going to be involved in pre-parties, social media groups, using the same t-shirt, having a reserved are, among other specificities. The fact of belonging to a “bloco” affects the overall experience, as respondents are more active and engaged emotionally, physically and cognitively.

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Moreover, creative dimensions are systematically higher in the group of people belonging to a Carnival group. The two highest means in both groups relate to the appreciation of Carnival as a creative event (6.46 and 6.79 out of a 7 point Likert scale) and the active playfulness (with 6.50 and 6.16 out of 7). The difference between the groups in having new ideas and feeling creative is significant and it implies that creativity levels and creative outputs are more likely to be produced when people belong to a group.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS As data were mainly collected through social media, they should be interpreted bearing in mind that the sampling method may allow bias. The access of survey through social media possibly limits responses from high socio-economic class. Also it might be limited in terms of the lifestyle choices and range of age, as there are many people above 50 who are also involved in specific Carnival groups for over 30 years and who don’t necessarily use social media.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: As Finkel (2004) points out, and in line with the results, Carnival in Brazil does not match what the author calls “McFestivalisation”, or “excessive sameness” (Leenders, van Telgen, Gemser, & Van der Wurff, 2005) of festivals since the consumer is co- creator of their own experience.

Event visitors, including the Carnival respondents, value their subjective experience, the ambience and feel of an event, more than the program offered (Kooistra, 2011).

The creative element is important, mainly the passive appreciation of creativity and playfulness, which can be worked at different levels when organising Carnival, for all audiences. As for the creative element, clearly there is space to develop products and appeal to developing Carnival experiences which have a more participatory activity – in a Carnival group – since this will increase the levels of creativity and creative feel, as well as the overall experience in all its dimensions.

There is also potential for development in terms of destination management, with high involvement of people in creative events, being not only a strong driver for attracting people to the location, but also an important element for identity.

In fact, creativity plays an important role in the involvement of the community as well as in the distinctive character of the event, which makes it specific in the destination.

In comparison with other events, Carnival in Brazil presents strong emotional dimensions, related for example with strong levels of excitement (Richards, 2017). This result in itself can be brought to attention in creating and optimising social and emotional capital.

For event organisers and policy makers, these results focused on the experience can potentially provide the platform for facilitating improved Carnival experiences as well as using these as assets in placemaking strategies.

Based on the results, paths for further development and quality of the Carnival experience can be highlighted, in a way that policy makers and other stakeholders can re-think ways to improve the event experience in a creativity framework.

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ORIGINALITY/VALUE Despite the fact that much has been written about Carnival, in particular in the field of Cultural Studies and Sociology, only a few studies have been focusing on the event itself, in particular from an experiential perspective. This paper bridges the gap in its insights on understanding Carnival as an event experience in its multiple dimensions.

REFERENCES De Geus, S; Richards, G.; Toepoel, V. (2015). Conceptualisation and Operationalisation of Event and Festival Experiences: Creation of an event experience scale. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 16 (3), 274-296.

Finkel, R. (2004). McFestivalisation? The Roles of Combined Arts Festival in the UK Cultural Economy. Paper presented at the Journeys of Expression III: Tourism and Festivals as Transnational Practice, Innsbruck.

Kooistra, S. (2011, August 13). Festivalgangerwilintimiteit. De Volkskrant.

Leenders, M. A. A. M., van Telgen, J., Gemser, G., & Van der Wurff, R. (2005). Success in the Dutch music festival market: The role of format and content. International Journal on Media Management, 7(3–4), 148–157.

Richards, G.; Santana, A. (2017). Measuring event experiences: An international view.

Experiencias turísticas de festivales y eventos. El Sauzal (Tenerife, Spain), PASOS, RTPC.

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